The two Porsche 99X Electric race cars have finished in the points in the fourth round of the Rome E-Prix, the first European race of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Pascal Wehrlein (GER/#94), who recently took the first win for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team in Mexico, finished eighth in the Eternal City.
Teammate André Lotterer (GER/#36) who crossed the finish line in two places behind him. The next race of the all-electric championship is back in Rome tomorrow, Sunday 10 April.
Race 4
Pascal Wehrlein started the race from seventh position on the grid at the Circuito Cittadino dell’EUR, which at 3.380 kilometres is the longest street course on the Formula E calendar. André Lotterer lined up right behind him on the eighth grid spot. Shortly after the start, a racing accident prompted the Porsche Taycan Turbo S – the Formula E safety car – to be deployed. The Porsche drivers put in a solid performance and by halfway had more energy reserves than their rivals. However, they were unable to utilise these reserves to improve their positions due to several incidents.
Porsche Formula E heads to E-Prix Rome with high expectations
In the drivers’ championship, Pascal Wehrlein ranks sixth with 34 points, with André Lotterer three points behind in seventh place. After four of 16 races, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team lies third in the team standings with 65 points.
Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E: “We scored valuable points, but we didn’t achieve what we set for ourselves as a goal. We got off to a good start in qualifying and our two cars were locked in a duel, but we didn’t have the pace to secure better starting positions. In the first half of the race, we held back after a reasonable start. At the halfway mark, we had more energy than the leading group and were in a position where we were ready to attack. But then several incidents involving other competitors cost us time that we were unable to make up. We’ll now work on our weaknesses and see if we can do better tomorrow.”
Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche works driver (#94): “This wasn’t an easy day. We scored a few points, but we wanted more obviously. We encountered problems with the balance of our car already in qualifying. In the race, it was hard to predict whether it would be one lap more or less. Now we have to see what we can improve on for tomorrow’s race. Then we’ll go for it again.”
André Lotterer, Porsche works driver (#36): “That race didn’t go well. I fell back at the start, and in the final phase, a competitor pushed me against the wall. As a result, I lost several places and the contact to the top group. Had this not happened, perhaps we could’ve done better, because we’d managed our energy well. We definitely aim to finish further up the field tomorrow.”
Next up
Race 5 in Rome will get underway on Sunday, 10 April, at 3.04 pm. The worldwide broadcasting schedule of the Formula E event in Rome is available on: https://www.fiaformulae.com/watch/ways-to-watch.